Stallion Mage: A Horse Shifter Mpreg Romance (COMPLETE)

A Leader's Consideration

A small dart of excitement shot through Alvarr at the thought of seeing Laren, but his anger and fatigue quenched it.  The inside of the tent was warm, another property of the ancient cloth, and for some reason, the mage did not want to shift to four legs.

"I have said my piece," he told Elder Sevan.  "What more can I do?  I know that Elder Mastok will learn all he can.  It seems to me that it's all up to you, now." 

"Shall I tell him you are resting?" Elder Sevan asked.

What if Laren has changed his mind, though?  The mage couldn't risk letting the chance slip by. This was about more than his comfort.  "No," he said.  "I will hear what he has to say."

Wrapping his hair around his wrist, Alvarr got up and went to the entrance.

Laren was indeed waiting there in equine shape.  "Are you well enough to walk with me?" the leader asked.

"I do not feel much like talking, but I can listen," Alvarr said, raising his chin to look at Laren's liquid brown eyes.  "And the land is making me feel this way, according to Elder Mastok.  It seems to make no difference if I meditate, sleep, or walk, so I might as well come with you." 

The great gray stallion bowed his head.  "Very well." 

They walked toward the trees.  The cold air pressed against his skin.  Alvarr fought off his general feeling of illness until finally, he shifted to four-legs as well.  The world swam around him at the change in perspective.  He shifted back quickly. 

"What is it?" Laren, who had gone a few feet ahead, came back quickly.

"I cannot shift into four-legs," Alvarr said, trying to keep any distress out of his voice.  "It makes me feel worse." Something new to tell the Elders.

Laren, too, shifted to two legs and hovered near the smaller mage.  "If you need-"

"I'm fine," the mage said, holding up his hand.  "The Elders are going to look for answers in the things I brought back.  I know they will find a way to help me."

"If you were so ill, why did you leave in the first place?"  Laren's voice had a hint of anger.

Alvarr tried not to show his impatience with the leader.  Ignorance does not suit you, the Elder had said, and Alvarr found himself much of the same opinion.  "I wasn't sick when I left.  I somehow became more sensitive to the taint that our territory carries."

"It is not tainted-"

"Romeya," was all Alvarr said. 

Laren made no reply. 

Maybe this was a waste of time.  Laren seemed to just want to argue, and Alvarr was in no shape to confront him.  He steered them toward his birthplace.  If anywhere could help him feel better, it was there.

"When you didn't come back, I thought you'd died," Laren said.

"I know," said the mage.

Laren's hand gripped Alvarr's shoulder.  "What are you talking about?  You weren't here."

They were just inside the trees, and the dry scent of evergreen needles calmed Alvarr and helped him think clearly.  If I tell him, he might believe me about the other visions.  But if the leader confirmed that the mage's vision truly had come to pass, Alvarr could not pretend that it was only his imagination.  He shuddered, and Laren's hand tightened.

"Tell me," the leader commanded.

"I saw it in a dream.  You were with Elder Sevan," the mage said.  "You said you didn't think I was coming back.  Elder Sevan said I had left for a reason, and that you must trust that I would return."  And you said that I had cause to leave.  What did you mean by that?  "You were overlooking the land separating us from the mares, the great grasslands."